international and security policy has as its primary goal the preservation of what we might call the Fifth Freedom, understood crudely but with a fair degree of accuracy as the freedom to rob, to exploit and to dominate, to undertake any course of action to ensure that existing privilege is protected and advanced.Noam Chomsky (b. Fighting a losing battle Col. Burton nevertheless tries to built a safe vehicle and one sympathies with him, but while no one on the hill cares, it is the fighting man in combat who will ultimately pay the price. Notes on The Pentagon Wars - Daniel Fitzgerald's Blog As large as the Pentagons budget is, priorities still matter. The weapons they choose are hardly ever chosen for their effectiveness or safety. 1928). Animal Action The Pentagon Wars Release Date: February 28, 1998 Certification: 10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About the Pentagon HAIG: Sir, the whole study that was done for McNamara and then carried on after McNamara left by Clifford and. Not only was it produced at great cost (over 13 billion taxpayer dollars) but after spending that much money it was an unsafe deathtrap for anyone riding in it, unfortunately it was a troop carrier. Maker of low budget horror flicks. His scathing memoir says the Pentagon's spending of the public's money is a dirty business, one that too often has nothing to do with national defense, one in which secrecy and deception are valuable currencies. Ultimately, Burton got his exercise and proved that the Bradley needed serious changes. North Korea, like Iran, wants relief from sanctions and gets Washingtons attention by poking and prodding. Humane Hollywood is a program of American Humane, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, EIN: 84-0432950. When it is used to fight wars, there is no finer in the world. The Pentagon was the brainchild of Army Brig. #1 I've been playing a bit too much Wargame Red Dragon tonight and got the urge to rewatch the Pentagon Wars clip that shows up in every single thread that so much as mentions the Bradley IFV. "But it's satire" isn't an excuse because even the people who post it jokingly actually believe that Colonel Sandbag here is the level-headed pragmatist. Two years after the imbroglio began, Mr. Burton fired off the most explosive memo of the internal war. Since this is somewhat of a satire, I expect a lot of hyperbole put into this movie. Fortunately, no! Having just watched "the Pentagon Wars", how has the Bradley - Reddit Found this film very entertaining and loved the excellent direction of Richard Benjamin, "Lift",'92, who also portrayed former Secretary of Defense, Casper Weinberger. Its also uncomfortably close to the truth. The first side of the Pentagon begins to take shape on a plot of land in Arlington, Va., across the Potomac River from the Washington Monument, Nov. 5, 1941. There are a few laughs during the movie during the many screwed up tests !Eventually it all snowballs till Congress calls for hearing with both Grammer and Elwes there!If you like to see ways America's misspends it money check out this movie! Just go with this one. You may opt-out by. Cary Elwes back on the side of truth and justice, for which i'm glad, as he has hero quality. Part of the answer is that we must plan for nuclear nightmares. Co-host and producer of the War College podcast. The Bradley was a new armored personnel carrier that carried six soldiers along with ammunition and fuel. The Pentagon Wars - Wikipedia The response ranged from horror to anger to disbelief . His department has finished designs on a new armored personnel carrier for the U.S. Armythe Bradley fighting vehicle. Mr. Burton's report on the test was suppressed; the Pentagon publicly denied that such a report existed. The Pentagon Wars is a film, based on a true story, and the Bradley, (a military vehicle), and Colonel Burton, the man who finally made Congress aware of the potential hazards of the tank's design. His film counterpart's rank was changed to Lieutenant Colonel because director Richard Benjamin felt that Cary Elwes appeared too young to be a full colonel. The Army resisted Burtons requests for a live-fire exercise. The Soviets upgraded their heavy machine guns and artillery, and we responded by upgrading our vehicles to be survivable for it's designed role in the new expected combat environment of West Germany. It's a sarcastic and ironical humor, and if you only like Three Stooges only( people may like it and also like other type of comedy) type of jokes, don''t watch it, you'll miss the funny parts. U.S. ties with Russia are badly frayed. The 701 was built 1965, testing complete 1966. Colonel Sandbag is designing the replacement for the M113, so he should be fully damn aware of how popular gun shields are on M113s in Vietnam. Clearly we've still got big ones. financial donations):Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/The_ChieftainDirect Paypal: https://paypal.me/thechieftainshat U.S. military planners and troops are overburdened. We wanted a vehicle that would be effective as a troop carrier with secondary mission objectives in the expected combat environment of West Germany. The hearings and questions of that commission provides one of the most humoristic scenes of the movie and are unsurpassed by other political movies. How about some portholes along the side, another general chimes in. But this analysis begs the question of why U.S. forces would execute conventional military campaigns that would invite Armageddon. Contributions to American Humane are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by applicable law. THE PENTAGON WARS Reformers Challenge the Old Guard. The book examines the movement and its proponents and describes how the system responded to the criticisms and efforts to change accepted practices and entrenched ways of thinking. No national leader since Harry Truman has decided to cross the nuclear threshold. Essays may be lightly modified for readability or to protect the anonymity of contributors, but we do not edit essay examples prior to publication. The design-by-committee is one of the funniest moments in the 1998 HBO film The Pentagon Wars. All of these contingencies have one thing in common: U.S. forces need useful and usable military capabilities when placed in harms way. I see. This is 1967 and the Vietnam War is in full swing. Kelsey Grammar plays Maj. Gen. Partridge a man who couldn't care less what a vehicle costs, so long as it promotes jobs and his career. It may not display this or other websites correctly. Clearly i'm not up to date on civic problems. The movie is a running commentary about how things really go on behind doors. In fact, one of the sections had just finished getting upgrades that improved security features, including walls and windows with greater blast resistance. "Seldom is anyone held accountable. But I still find it incredulous that the US military brass can be so short-sighted and inept. This is a BETA experience. The Bradley was a rolling powder keg; the Army knew it, and the brass wanted to avoid the live-fire tests because they knew a single Soviet antitank round could pierce the Bradley's skin, blow up its stores of fuel and ammunition and burn its crew to death. In reality, James Burton was a full colonel. Even before the terrorist attacks, the renovations were considered a massive undertaking, which included: According to Pentagon historians, 40,000 personnel had to be relocated during the project's various phases, which went as follows: Each wedge was broken into 10,000 square feet; plumbers, electricians and other tradesmen then had five days to complete their tasks before moving onto the next 10,000 square-foot section. (And nope, we don't source our examples from our editing service! Two shots reduced the Bradley to a puddle of molten aluminum. Learn what works (and what doesn't) from the reader's perspective. The Pentagon Wars (TV Movie 1998) - IMDb A Film Analysis of the Pentagon Wars by Richard Benjamin But the larger story Mr. Burton recounts is enormously sad. Now back in print after having inspired a feature HBO film, this explosive account of insider corruption is sure to serve policy-makers for generations to come. In the 1950s this was calledpentomic warfare." Is The Pentagon Preparing To Fight The Wrong War? - Forbes The sheep walked from point A to B down the ramp. So a larger cannon was added which caused it to be larger. Admiral Charles Richard, the head of the Strategic Command,warns usthat a regional crisis involving Beijing or Moscow could escalate quickly to a conflict involving nuclear weapons, if they perceived a conventional loss would threaten the regime or state. This is surely true for North Korea, as well. The two big stars here are Kelsey Grammer(TV's Frasier) and Cary Elwes(Twister,Liar,Liar, Robin Hood:Men in Tights). An unarmed Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile launches during an operation test at [+] Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., on Feb. 23. Nuclear weapons are an expensive insurance policy that no leader wants to cash in because the costs of doing so are far, far greater than the premiums. None of the brilliant strategic analysts who conceptualized how nuclear weapons might be used in warfare have provided a convincing answer to this question. Did you find something inaccurate, misleading, abusive, or otherwise problematic in this essay example? His department has. The production purchased taxidermic sheep that had supposedly been inside the Bradley during the test. After spending 14 years at the Pentagon in the business of buying weapons, he concludes that it is "a corrupt business -- ethically and morally corrupt from top to bottom." An okay bit of entertainment, this film could have had more bite, a harder edge, and more drama. . Not only does it portray the stress between the pentagon and congress as the troop carrier gets turns in to an amphibious, tank, antiaircraft, scoot (read slow moving target with troops in it). The memorial, which was dedicated on Sept. 11, 2008, sits on a two-acre plot of land on the southwest side of the building, next to where the airplane struck that fateful day. Bradley Development: What Pentagon Wars got right. - YouTube This allows our team to focus on improving the library and adding new essays. The Pentagon Wars by Jim Burton This is an excellent book on the culture of the Pentagon and military industrial complex in the 70s and 80s. He tells Smith to put a turret on top. Which is exactly why I shouldn't be surprised so many SBers look up to Colonel Sandbag and Not-Steve-Jobs. He took the reasonable position that if the Bradley went untested, soldiers in battle could die unnecessarily. The Pentagon is a universal symbol of U.S. strength and security known around the world, but do you know the history behind it? The current Pentagonbuzzwordfor this is conventional-nuclear integration. Deterrence strategists believe thatrivals are thinkingthis way, so the Pentagon must, as well. It is pretty amazing. A lot of the negative things it says about the Bradley just aren't true (or actually aren't bad things). It didnt fare as well on its return trip to Iraq in 2003. But how do you control nuclear escalation against a well-armed foe if one of the combatants seeks to achieve dominance, or at least advantage and ones foe is determined not to be dominated? In "The Pentagon Wars," James G. Burton, a retired Air Force colonel who scrutinized the buying of weapons from his post inside the Pentagon, argues that moral and ethical corruption,. >I just saw "The Pentagon Wars" on HBO and had several questions. Deterrence strategists believe that rivals are thinking this way, so the Pentagon must, as well. Some even went on to high-paying jobs with the same defense contractors they had worked alongside in the Defense Department. Back then, Army units would carry nuclear weapons with them into battle. The Army aimed at the water. A version of this article appears in print on, https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/03/books/corrupt-from-top-to-bottom.html. It is the ultimate cautionary tale about a bureaucracy gone out of control. Sign up Miniature atomic bombs could be fired from theDavy Crockett, a recoilless rifle with a range of one meager mile. This preview is partially blurred. Fed up, Mr. Burton resigned from the armed forces of the United States. "The Pentagon Wars" is the story of one of the most expensive military fiascoes in American History, the Bradley Fighting Vehicle and its long road from whence it began. The Pentagon Is Freaking Out About a Potential War With China also disturbing is the fact that every officer involved in the development of the bradley was promoted and went on to lucrative defense contracting positions while Col. Burton was forced to leave the Air Force. An official website of the United States Government. And yes, there are now two major powers competing with the United States, but their leaders, like the U.S. president, have societies to lose by crossing the nuclear threshold. In "The Pentagon Wars," James G. Burton, a retired Air Force colonel who scrutinized the buying of weapons from his post inside the Pentagon, argues that moral and ethical corruption, incompetence and overweening ambition characterized the process. Unfortunately, when not fighting, the Officers and senior staff are anything but. A film analysis of the pentagon wars by richard benjamin. Fortunately, no!The US Army's Armor and Cavalry Collection (and the Infantry Museum) have some of the progenitors of Bradley, and we can compare the film's development sequence with what the Army was really building.Note. Some events shown in the movie never happened, as the director took artistic license with the original book, which was accurate. Given this long history, now seven decades old, why is there now a resurgence of thinking about the mixed use of conventional and nuclear weapons? Despite the upgrades, the APC still had problems. Trivia IMDbPro All topics The Pentagon Wars TV Movie 1998 R 1h 44m IMDb RATING 7.2 /10 4.7K YOUR RATING Rate POPULARITY 4,701 63 Comedy War Story of a cover up in the military. Book Review: 'By All Means Available,' by Michael G. Vickers - The New Richard Benjamin retells "The Pentagon Wars" story with an HBO budget and a mockumentary style in this examination of one of the Pentagon's more embarrassing faux pas; oversight of the R&D of what's come to be known as the Bradley Troop Carrier and Fighting Vehicle. Cary Elwes, who sounds like a cross between Martin Sheen and Richard Dreyfus, is pretty good as the earnest innocent, and Kelsey Grammar is superb as his immediate boss, blustering and puffed up and brimming with admiration for ex-military comrades who have gone into the private sector and make enough money to "buy and sell us ten times over." Instead they are allowed to splurge to their heart's content. The money bought a tremendous array of military power. The Pentagon Is Freaking Out About a Potential War With China . During our discussion, Kevin mentions the actor Rip Taylor, who is not in the film. John C. McGinley and Tom Wright are there to insure that they fail. The Pentagon Wars movie ends up missing the mark. We oughta get the biggest bang we can up there.. May not be the way a lot of people would go about, but it's fairly competent for it's intended goals and the expected combat environment of West Germany. The Army recoiled. There is a scene where a group of sheep is loaded from a truck into the Bradley. Synopsis. I thoroughly enjoyed this film, especially Kelsey Grammar as the unflappable general - always ready with a quick answer and so sincere you want to believe him, despite the utter absurdity of what he is saying. A lot of the events and lessons in this book are applicable today. for reconnaissance is a really stupid idea. The film focuses on Burtons fight to get the military to perform live-fire testing on the Bradley. The Pentagon Wars (1998 TV Movie) 39 Reviews Hide Spoilers Sort by: Filter by Rating: 7/10 Close to the Truth Uriah43 31 March 2013 The Pentagon is trying to field a new armored personnel carrier into production to replace the aging M113. So the fellas can stick out their guns and shoot people., You know what, colonel? the first general adds. Quite a feat for a troop carrier. Chinas military capabilities are growing. Thankfully, several offices in that area weren't occupied because of the ongoing renovations. The only down side to the "Pentagon Wars" is it drags a little in the middle because just so much goes wrong with the Brady program. For more information on choosing credible sources for your paper, check out this blog post. Given that since the Bradley arrived, the US fought the Irakis twice, even a class made of a broken Lada with a single Chauchat machine gun would have racked more kills than a Ace Combat player character. Yeah, it's also in an adult film. It's hard to watch a Senate or House committee hearing after seeing this without laughing and/or grimacing. Now reviewing it : I'm Brazilian and knowing how politics works down here it's very believable whats happening on screen. In this film Director Richard Benjamin takes a realistic look at the brainless system by which the Military waste's taxpayer's money. Nor does he stop at the walls of the Pentagon. Now I'm no Apocal, but I think I've got a pretty good counter-argument to each of the complaints levied by the absolutely fucking, Meanwhile the real bradley can carry about a dozen missiles and has racked up more tank kills in the last two decades than all of America's various tank platforms have, I think the whole posting of that video is a huge sign of intellectual laziness on the part of posters, thinking Hollywood will make their argument for them. It probably saved thousands of lives. It's a must see, if not for the funny parts(not everyone has a sense of humor), at least for the message: watch your government very, very close, they usually screw up. Escalation control also assumes that both sides are on the same page and can live with the same outcome after being unable to avoid war and the first battlefield use of nuclear weapons since 1945. The problems of the 6 man dismount squad and splitting the squad between two vics. The logic behind this was pretty simple the site designated for construction was bordered by five roadways, so the developers decided to go with a five-sided building. I also enjoyed the performance of Viola Davis as the loyal sergeant, "SFC Fanning". We already have the turret. Nowadays, it houses the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the highest echelons of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force. An aerial view of the Pentagons construction, Feb. 29, 1942. These plans didnt make any sense at the tactical or operational levels of warfare, so they were scuttled. The Pentagon Wars - Accuracy - LiquiSearch On another forum, I found this post that summarizes it: The movie Pentagon Wars and to a lesser extent the book primarily rely on ignorance of the armour needs and specifics of the Bradley to create the appearance of scandal. This movie shows the taxpayers ways their money was wasted on defense messes as this shows the viewer. So much of it is true. Kelsey Grammer and Cary Elwes are both great comedic actors. In reality, James Burton was a full colonel. The plans that Biden will find most useful are ones that strengthen his hand while keeping a prudent distance from the nuclear threshold. Kelsey Grammer is brilliant as the unflappable and stubborn General forced to protect the interests of the Pentagon. It's been about a year or two since I actually watched the movie, and I was struck by how asinine the entire bit is in hindsight.
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